


The Red Woman

by Season_8_But_Better



Series: A Redo of Season 8 [1]
Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Angst, Burning, Character Death, Davos is the Lord of Light, Explicit Language, Game of Thrones Spoilers, Garbage dump, Gods are real, Melisandre is a bitch, Not Beta Read, One Shot, One Shot Collection, Other, Season 6-8, Season 8 Spoilers, Set to "other" as there is no romance, Very much just me redoing D&D's garbage work, We Die Like Men, bitches be swearing, descriptions of death, not cannon, only anger, rewritten season 8, she deserves it though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-18
Updated: 2019-08-18
Packaged: 2020-09-06 15:50:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20294038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Season_8_But_Better/pseuds/Season_8_But_Better
Summary: Only once were the Lord of Light the one to throw the torch onto a pire. Only once did he think the woman burning deserved it."“There is always a choice!” Davos’ voice echoed in the hall. It almost sounded holy. Melisandre tightened her fists beneath her cape. She was shaking. She just had to make him understand. With the Lord of Light there never was a choice. She opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off, before she had even begun."





	The Red Woman

**Author's Note:**

> Heyo! I have some scenes I didn't especially like in the last seasons of Game of Thrones, and because I'm a little bitch that think I can write better than professionally paid writers, I decided to rewrite some of the scenes I think they did the dirtiest.  
Prompts for scenes you would like me to rewrite are welcome! You can either just mention a death or scene you want rewritten or let my imagination run wild, or you can gimme pointers for what exactly you want changed. I am at your service.  
Tags are only relevant for the individual works, not the entire series. Lemme know if you want me to tag something else.  
Kudos and criticism will be greately appreciated <3

“She murdered a little girl! She burned her alive!”

Davos’ voice broke. His tightened fists were trembling by his sides. Melisandre’s jaw tightened. Otherwise her demeanor didn’t change.

“She had the true king’s blood in her veins. Our God demanded a sacrifice.”

“He is no God of mine!”

Melisandre’s façade cracked, taken aback by Davos’ outburst. Davos took a threatening step forward. The priestess didn’t move.

“What kind of God demands children as sacrifices? Innocent children? A vicious God. A cruel and demented God. A God you so proudly call yourself a servant of.”

Davos’ didn’t look ashamed of the tears streaming down his cheek, nor of the fact that the King in the North was silently watching the entire thing. Melisandre’s jaw tightened once more.

“The Lord of Light doesn’t give you a choice-.“

“There is always a choice!”

Davos’ voice echoed in the hall. It almost sounded holy. Melisandre tightened her fists beneath her cape. She was shaking. She just had to make him understand. With the Lord of Light there never was a choice. She opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off, before she had even begun.

“This is all true?” Both Davos’ and Melisandre’s heads snapped to the dark-haired bastard that had just spoken up.

“You burned a little girl alive?”

A suffocating silence fell over the hall. The only sound that broke it was Davos’ ragged breathing and occasional sniffling. Melisandre turned her head to meet Davos’ eyes. He returned her gaze and she only saw fire.

“Yes.”

Her voice felt small in her mouth.

“I sacrificed royal blood because my God demanded it.” 

It took them three days to build her pyre. It was difficult to find any dry wood in the winter. It was dark when she was escorted out, but all the time in the dungeons had made it difficult for her to determine what time it was. She’d asked the guards and gotten no answer. She’d asked her God many questions and found no answer in the flames. The many hours in silence made her almost wish there would be yelling in the courtyard. But everyone was silent. Like they knew how badly she wished to hear something other than her fast beating heart and the blood rushing in her ears. No matter. The Lord of Light wasn’t done with her, she could feel it. These people were about to witness a miracle. Melisandre cooperated silently when they tied her to the stake. The priestess was reminded of an old Targaryen saying. ‘Fire cannot kill a dragon’. She couldn’t help but smile. Can fire burn what has already given itself up to the flames?

“Lady Melisandre you were accused by Lord Davos Seaworth of the murder of the Lady Shireen Baratheon. You have been found guilty on all charges and sentenced to die by fire.”

Jon Snow’s voice rang clear over the silent crowd. Melisandre met his eye. Neither looked afraid. Neither looked to be feeling any guilt.

“Do you have any last words?”

The priestess scanned the crowd until she found who she was looking for. The torch Davos’ was holding made him easy to locate. Her executioner.

“The night is dark and full of terrors. You may burn my body, but my soul is already engulfed in flames.”

Her High Valyrian rolled off her tongue like crisp cold water. Davos wasn’t a scholared man. Yet she somehow knew he understood every word.

“Do you question your king when you ride beside him to slay thousands? Do you question your priests when they say their church need gold? No. And I don’t question my God when he shows me in the flames that sacrifices must be made. Sometimes thieves or rapists. Sometimes usurpers and traitors. And sometimes princesses.”

A gush of wind passed through the courtyard, making the torches flicker. For a split second she thought his eyes turned red and her blood ran cold. Yet she continued, the static silence pleasing her.

“I have split my body apart and birthed for my God. I have ridden to wars I knew I was going to lose, for my God. And yes, I have killed for my God. Tonight, I will burn for my God.”

What a privilege it was to understand. To know. The truth can only be found in the flames and it was a truth the Lord of Light had shared with her. She was but his humble servant. Tonight, she would reap the fruits of her labor. Melisandre’s eyes stayed locked with Davos’ as he made his way towards the stake. He cleared his throat, hesitating at the bottom of it. Melisandre had the audacity to look pleased by this.

“If I may be so blunt, my Lady.”

For the first time tonight Davos’ eyes wasn’t meeting hers.

“I wish we could drown you instead. A more suitable death for someone who calls themselves a priestess of fire, don’t you think?”

Davos didn’t step away, even as the flames started to grab ahold of the lower logs, quickly making their way towards Melisandre. She welcomed the heat. The warmth. The embrace of her God. She looked over the crowd as Davos still wouldn’t meet her eye. She smiled at a little girl, clinging to her mothers’ shoulder. It would be good for her to see this. This wasn’t an execution. This was a rebirth. The flames were getting closer and she prepared herself for the pain. She had birthed both mortals and holy deities, a lifegiving pain no man could ever fathom. This couldn’t be worse. The first lick of fire almost made her flinch away, but she suppressed it. She wasn’t like them. She wasn’t going to scream or plead. No one but her God could make her beg. The flames started eating at the bottom of her dress, the smoke making it difficult to breathe, scratching the inside of her lungs. Still she didn’t make a sound. Only looked down and almost jumped out of her burning skin. Through the flames she could see the silhouette of a man. No, not a man. Something more. Back straightened and head tilted right towards her. Lightning crackling up both arms and casting a shadow so large it swallowed the entire crowd. Oh, but his eyes. They were red and they were furious. Davos? Melisandre’s screams ripped through the silence. The flames were eating away at her torso, her arms, her hair. Her dress was long burned away, and her skin was blackening. Yet her screams weren’t of those in pain. She sounded scared. Terrified. Pleading for her God to have mercy on her. Eyes still locked with Davos’.

Davos watched the stake even as everyone left. He didn’t leave until it had stopped smoldering and the wind had taken most of the ashes. He had to make sure she didn’t come back. She didn’t.

**Author's Note:**

> So that was the first of hopefully many chapters! Not that long, but I promise some of the others will be.  
As mentioned earlier - kudos and criticism is greatly appreciated! My comments are open to everyone and everything - prompts for future chapters included!  
You can also reach me at @S8_But_Better on Twitter if that is more your style, or if you want updates on my chapters and boring life.  
I'm out. Peace ✌️


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